This past weekend I flew to Dublin and later hopped on a three hour bus ride to Galway for a daytrip. Although I seem to have been named after the longest river tearing through Ireland, I never really had a desire to travel there. I figured that I would be able to drink all the whiskey and Guinness I wanted to from the comfort of my South Kensington flat and listen to all the Irish dancing music I could possibly desire by blasting my iPod. However, this country of luck, rainbows, and leprechauns is incredibly more beautiful and spirited than I could have ever imagined. As I learned in my British Culture course, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but the Republic of Ireland, with its capital Dublin and populous city Galway, is a sovereign independent state. After walking down the cobblestone streets listening to the many talented street performers and bearing the strong November winds to witness the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, and The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick, my friend and I felt it was finally time for a real drink. We headed over to the historic and notorious Temple Bar area and became witness to many joyous and drunk teenagers, grandparents, partying bachelors or bachelorettes, naval officers, musicians, and everyone in between. The scene had me wondering: does Ireland really hold up to its American stereotype of centering on alcohol?
After a bit of research I found that Alcohol Action, a National Charity for Ireland’s Alcohol related issues, has reported that “Irish adults binge drink more than adults in any other European country, with one quarter reporting that they binge drink every week” (AAI 1). I was astonished, but my shock was nothing compared to when I uncovered an article in the reputable Guardian, announcing that “a county council in south-west Ireland has voted to back a motion allowing for people living in isolated areas to drink and drive” (McDonald 1). Apparently, since these drinkers are most likely traveling on smaller roads in tractors, this is not seen as unsafe. Also, some believe that whiskey is a safer outlet for these unhappy travelers than the alternative which is presumed to be suicide. I am still baffled; depression causes suicide, not necessarily drinking, although depression may lead to drinking depending on the individual. Yet there are thousands of car crashes (and perhaps even tractor collisions!) each year across the globe due to drinking and driving, causing many premature deaths. This travesty hits home hard for me, as just this past summer there was a story in my local newspaper about a young man from my town who had driven under the influence and killed a pregnant woman in another vehicle through a preventable collision. This tragic event was well-known in surrounding towns and high schools took further preventative measures to instill within the students that drinking and driving is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. I feel as if the drinking culture in Ireland has become too much of the norm; there should be more provisions to make the area safer for travelers. Perhaps this drinking tradition runs too deep, the pubs appearing too frequently on every street and corner, so that the alcohol is just too available.
Reflecting upon my trip to Ireland, I definitely appreciated the beauty which came with the rolling green landscape, impressive distilleries, and cobblestone roads, but I feel as if improvements need to be made within the drinking culture. The cities are only growing and Ireland may become more urbanized and suburbanized over time. When that time comes, danger may lie ahead.